with Teri Knight
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Repotting houseplants
I just recently had to cull 2 houseplants. They were each at least 15 years old and I hadn’t “done” anything to them.
It was well past time and I went after them. A philodendron and spider plant.
My step stool is JUST tall enough for me to get these hanging plants down. The philo was rootbound and droopy, the spider plant just sagged.
I don’t have pics of the absolute mess I made, but … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Immunity Garden – a Rainbow of Vegetables
The pandemic has produced a plethora of new gardeners for many reasons. Some of which include those who are looking at what they eat and how they might contribute to their overall health. Planting a kaleidoscope of color in the vegetable garden is a great start!
Different colors of vegetables and fruits offer different nutritional value. Although continuing studies are being done on the full value of these power-packed plants, here’s … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Valentine’s Day – the origins and flowers too
Happy Valentine’s Day!
The origins of this day are a bit mysterious and convoluted. There were 3 Christian martyrs all named Valentine and in 500 AD, Pope Gelasius created St. Valentines Day to commemorate the martyrs. There was no romantic meaning to the day until 1382 when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the “Parlement of Foules”. It’s actually about fowls… birds. The narrator falls asleep and dreams of a beautiful garden … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Dormant pruning
Now through early spring is the best time to prune MOST trees and shrubs.
Cold temperatures provide the best time to prune because the plants are dormant, their sap flowing less freely and the insects are not a bother.
Do NOT prune any spring blooming shrubs now, however, it IS a good time to prune any summer or fall flowering shrubs. More on WHEN and HOW to prune trees/shrubs from the University of Minnesota Extension. … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Vegetables for part shade/part sun
You can still grow a vegetable garden if you don’t have full sun, that means 6 to 8 hours! That, according to former University of Minnesota Hort professor, Jeff Gillman in his book “Decoding Gardening Advice”. A great read.
Gillman says these vegetables/herbs need as little as 2 hours of direct sunlight:
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: There’s more than one Milkweed
Milkweed. THE plant for monarch butterflies.
But it’s not just the common milkweed. There are, in fact, several options. Karen Oberhauser, Director of the University of Wisconsin- Madison Arboretum, says part of the massive decline of the monarch is weather related. Early, warm springs tend to be associated with low monarch numbers. She says that may be due to the mismatch in the timing of milkweed availability. Habitat loss is the number one … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min Garden Bite radio show: A change of climate for gardening
As we continue to deal with climate change, record temps high and low, increased drought and floods, there’s a change of climate in the gardening world in several ways including how we view trees and the planting of them.
We’re well past simply beautification and are planting for their natural functions. The Minnesota DNR has proposed $13.3 million to replant seedlings lost in the drought. Read more about that from the link … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Sowing seeds in winter – vernalization
Plant some seeds in a container that forms a greenhouse effect and set them outside. Cheap, easy and allows for the seeds to be ready to plant in your garden when the soil warms up!
What happens with this method is vernalization, a process in which frigid temperatures stimulate seed germination.
This can work for perennials such as delphinium and thyme for example (plants hardy to your climate zone which is … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Very Peri – Pantone color and plants
I mentioned a few weeks ago that Pantone picked their color of the year for 2022. ‘Very Peri’ as described by Pantone, “displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression”. I really do love that.
Moving on to Very Peri and plants. Incorporate some joy with an allium called ‘Globemaster’.
Hardy to zone 2, this flowering onion has silvery purple globe flowers … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Cankers/Galls and late winter pruning
With all the leaves gone on our trees and shrubs, it’s a good time to take a careful look at their branches for galls or cankers. Now through early March is a good time to prune out these problems. The wound is exposed for a shorter amount of time (a good thing) before the new growth starts to seal the wound.
As explained by the University of MN Hort Dept. : A … [Continue reading]